Interscholastic sports

AN ACT Relating to defending equity in interscholastic sports; 1
amending RCW 28A.600.200 and 28A.640.020; adding a new section to 2
chapter 28A.600 RCW; and creating a new section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 28A.600.200 and 2012 c 155 s 2 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) Each school district board of directors is hereby granted and 7
shall exercise the authority to control, supervise and regulate the 8
conduct of interschool athletic activities and other interschool 9
extracurricular activities of an athletic, cultural, social or 10
recreational nature for students of the district. A board of 11
directors may delegate control, supervision and regulation of any 12
such activity to the Washington interscholastic activities 13
association or any other voluntary nonprofit entity and compensate 14
such entity for services provided, subject to the ((following)) 15
conditions((:16
(1))) outlined in this section.17
(2) The voluntary nonprofit entity shall not discriminate in 18
connection with employment or membership upon its governing board, or 19
otherwise in connection with any function it performs, on the basis 20
of race, creed, national origin, sex or marital status((;21
H-0747.1
HOUSE BILL 1699
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Volz, Walsh, Chase, Graham, Griffey, Schmidt,
Stuebe, Dent, Orcutt, Ley, Klicker, Barkis, Caldier, Abbarno,
Couture, Marshall, McClintock, Burnett, Schmick, Dye, Jacobsen,
Connors, Corry, Ybarra, Barnard, and Engell
Read first time 01/29/25. Referred to Committee on Education.
p. 1 HB 1699
(2)(a))) (3) Any rules and policies adopted and applied by the 1
voluntary nonprofit entity that governs student participation in any 2
interschool activity shall be written((;)) and 3
(((b) Such rules and policies shall )) provide for notice of the 4
reasons and a fair opportunity to contest such reasons prior to a 5
final determination to reject a student's request to participate in 6
or to continue in an interschool activity. 7
(((3)(a))) (4) The association or other voluntary nonprofit 8
entity is authorized to impose penalties for rules violations upon 9
coaches, school district administrators, school administrators, and 10
students, as appropriate, to punish the offending party or parties((;11
(b) No)), but no penalty may be imposed on a student or students 12
unless the student or students knowingly violated the rules or unless 13
a student gained a significant competitive advantage or materially 14
disadvantaged another student through a rule violation((;15
(c))). Any penalty that is imposed for rules violations must be 16
proportional to the offense((;17
(d) Any)), and any decision resulting in a penalty shall be 18
considered a decision of the school district conducting the activity 19
in which the student seeks to participate or was participating and 20
may be appealed pursuant to RCW 28A.600.205 and 28A.645.010 through 21
28A.645.030. 22
(((4))) (5) The school districts, Washington interscholastic 23
activities association districts, and leagues that participate in the 24
interschool extracurricular activities shall not impose more severe 25
penalties for rule violations than can be imposed by the rules of the 26
association or the voluntary nonprofit entity. 27
(((5))) (6) Policies, procedures, rules, and other requirements 28
adopted by a school district or a voluntary nonprofit entity in 29
accordance with this section must conform with section 2 of this act.30
(7) As used in this section and RCW 28A.600.205, "knowingly" 31
means having actual knowledge of or acting with deliberate ignorance 32
or reckless disregard for the prohibition involved.33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 28A.600 34
RCW to read as follows: 35
(1) Policies, procedures, rules, and other requirements adopted 36
in accordance with RCW 28A.600.200 by a school district board of 37
directors or a voluntary nonprofit entity may prohibit biologically 38
male students from competing with and against female students in 39
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athletic activities with separate classifications for male and female 1
students if the athletic activity is: 2
(a) Intended for female students; and 3
(b) An individual or team competition activity.4
(2) A dispute regarding a student's sex must be resolved by the 5
school district by requesting that the student provide a health 6
examination and consent form or other statement signed by the 7
student's personal health care provider that verifies the student's 8
biological sex. The health care provider may verify the student's 9
biological sex as part of a routine sports physical examination 10
relying only on one or more of the following: The student's 11
reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup, or normal endogenously produced 12
testosterone levels. 13
Sec. 3. RCW 28A.640.020 and 2023 c 242 s 3 are each amended to 14
read as follows: 15
(1) The superintendent of public instruction shall develop 16
regulations and guidelines to eliminate sex discrimination as it 17
applies to public school employment, counseling and guidance services 18
to students, recreational and athletic activities for students, 19
access to course offerings, and in textbooks and instructional 20
materials used by students. 21
(a) Specifically with respect to public school employment, all 22
schools shall be required to: 23
(i) Maintain credential requirements for all personnel without 24
regard to sex; 25
(ii) Make no differentiation in pay scale on the basis of sex;26
(iii) Assign school duties without regard to sex except where 27
such assignment would involve duty in areas or situations, such as 28
but not limited to a shower room, where persons might be disrobed;29
(iv) Provide the same opportunities for advancement to males and 30
females; and 31
(v) Make no difference in conditions of employment including, but 32
not limited to, hiring practices, leaves of absence, hours of 33
employment, and assignment of, or pay for, instructional and 34
noninstructional duties, on the basis of sex. 35
(b) Specifically with respect to counseling and guidance services 36
for students, they shall be made available to all students equally. 37
All certificated personnel shall be required to stress access to all 38
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career and vocational opportunities to students without regard to 1
sex. 2
(c) Specifically with respect to recreational and athletic 3
activities, they shall be offered to all students without regard to 4
sex, except as provided in section 2 of this act . Schools may provide 5
separate teams for each sex. Schools which provide the following 6
shall do so with no disparities based on sex: Equipment and supplies; 7
medical care; services and insurance; transportation and per diem 8
allowances; opportunities to receive coaching and instruction; 9
laundry services; assignment of game officials; opportunities for 10
competition, publicity and awards; scheduling of games and practice 11
times including use of courts, gyms, and pools: PROVIDED, That such 12
scheduling of games and practice times shall be determined by local 13
administrative authorities after consideration of the public and 14
student interest in attending and participating in various 15
recreational and athletic activities. Each school which provides 16
showers, toilets, or training room facilities for athletic purposes 17
shall provide comparable facilities for both sexes. Such facilities 18
may be provided either as separate facilities or shall be scheduled 19
and used separately by each sex. 20
The superintendent of public instruction shall also be required 21
to develop a student survey to distribute every three years to each 22
local school district in the state to determine student interest for 23
male/female participation in specific sports. 24
(d) Specifically with respect to course offerings, all classes 25
shall be required to be available to all students without regard to 26
sex: PROVIDED, That separation is permitted within any class during 27
sessions on sex education or gym classes. 28
(e) Specifically with respect to textbooks and instructional 29
materials, which shall also include, but not be limited to, reference 30
books and audiovisual materials, they shall be required to adhere to 31
the guidelines developed by the superintendent of public instruction 32
to implement the intent of this chapter: PROVIDED, That this 33
subsection shall not be construed to prohibit the introduction of 34
material deemed appropriate by the instructor for educational 35
purposes. 36
(2)(a) By December 31, 1994, the superintendent of public 37
instruction shall develop criteria for use by school districts in 38
developing sexual harassment policies as required under (b) of this 39
subsection. The criteria shall address the subjects of grievance 40
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procedures, remedies to victims of sexual harassment, disciplinary 1
actions against violators of the policy, and other subjects at the 2
discretion of the superintendent of public instruction. Disciplinary 3
actions must conform with collective bargaining agreements and state 4
and federal laws. The superintendent of public instruction also shall 5
supply sample policies to school districts upon request.6
(b) By June 30, 1995, every school district shall adopt and 7
implement a written policy concerning sexual harassment. The policy 8
shall apply to all school district employees, volunteers, parents, 9
and students, including, but not limited to, conduct between 10
students. 11
(c) School district policies on sexual harassment shall be 12
reviewed by the superintendent of public instruction considering the 13
criteria established under (a) of this subsection as part of the 14
monitoring process established in RCW 28A.640.030.15
(d) The school district's sexual harassment policy shall be 16
conspicuously posted throughout each school building, and provided to 17
each employee. A copy of the policy shall appear in any publication 18
of the school or school district setting forth the rules, 19
regulations, procedures, and standards of conduct for the school or 20
school district. This requirement as it relates to students, parents, 21
and guardians may be satisfied by using the model student handbook 22
language in RCW 28A.300.286. 23
(e) Each school shall develop a process for discussing the 24
district's sexual harassment policy. The process shall ensure the 25
discussion addresses the definition of sexual harassment and issues 26
covered in the sexual harassment policy. 27
(f) "Sexual harassment" as used in this section means unwelcome 28
sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexually motivated 29
physical contact, or other verbal or physical conduct or 30
communication of a sexual nature if: 31
(i) Submission to that conduct or communication is made a term or 32
condition, either explicitly or implicitly, of obtaining an education 33
or employment; 34
(ii) Submission to or rejection of that conduct or communication 35
by an individual is used as a factor in decisions affecting that 36
individual's education or employment; or 37
(iii) That conduct or communication has the purpose or effect of 38
substantially interfering with an individual's educational or work 39
p. 5 HB 1699
performance, or of creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive 1
educational or work environment. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This act may be known and cited as the 3
defending equity in interscholastic sports act.4
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